The detergent brand creating a circular plastics economy

Laundry brand OMO’s EcoActive detergent is designed to be tough on stains – not on the planet.

The formula contains 70% plant-based ingredients, combining the cleaning power of OMO (aka Persil) with a recipe that’s kinder to the environment. But it’s not just what’s inside that counts. The bottles have big ambitions too.

According to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, the Pacific Ocean contains more plastic than plankton.

It’s a crisis that demands urgent action – and that’s why, in Australia and New Zealand, EcoActive has just become the first OMO brand to launch in bottles made from 25% recycled plastic, all of which is sourced in Australia.

“A small but significant first step”

The aim is to increase the demand for Australian plastic waste, in turn creating a circular economy where plastic can be recycled, repurposed and reused – so less of it ends up in landfill or the ocean

Based on predicted sales for OMO EcoActive’s first year, the product will save the equivalent of 7 million tonnes of single-use plastic bags from entering the environment. That stacks up to 21 million tonnes over the next three years.

It’s a small but significant first step for OMO – and one that the brand plans to scale up.

“Our research showed that 70% of consumers across Australia and New Zealand wanted a laundry detergent that was better for the environment so we worked fast to get our recycled plastic packaging out as quickly as possible,” says OMO’s Australia and New Zealand Brand Lead Lynsey Forrest (pictured above).

“We’re already looking to increase the level of recycled plastic used in OMO EcoActive packaging from 25% to at least 50%, and we’re exploring adding recycled plastic to more of the products across our laundry portfolio in the future too,” Lynsey adds.